Giants fan beating suspect to be held 10 months

The Associated Press

The main suspect in the brutal beating of a San Francisco Giants fan outside Dodger Stadium has been ordered held in custody for 10 months on a parole violation.

The state Department of Corrections says a parole revocation hearing for 31-year-old Giovanni Ramirez concluded Monday with a finding that there was cause to believe the convicted felon had violated parole by having access to a weapon. That charge was amended from an initial allegation of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The decision means Ramirez will remain in custody while police investigate him in the March 31 beating of Bryan Stow. Police have expressed confidence in Ramirez's May 22 arrest but he has not been charged with the attack.

Ramirez's attorney plans to appeal.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

The main suspect in a brutal beating outside Dodger Stadium that put a San Francisco Giants fan in a coma faced a hearing Monday to determine whether he should remain in jail for allegedly violating terms of his parole.

Giovanni Ramirez, 31, has not been charged in the attack on Bryan Stow and police have been in no hurry to present a case to prosecutors while Ramirez, a convicted felon, has been kept in jail on a parole hold. Police say they found a gun in a laundry basket at the house where he was arrested.

Ramirez's lawyers say their client was nowhere near Dodger Stadium at the time of the March 31 attack.

Attorney Jose Romero has said 11 family members and friends have provided an alibi for Ramirez, saying he was at an aunt's house. Neighbors are also supporting the claim, Romero said.

If the official leading Ramirez's hearing finds there is insufficient evidence to support the claim that Ramirez was a felon in possession of a firearm, he could be ordered to be set free.

Romero said if that happened, police would likely immediately re-arrest his client to keep him in custody. Prosecutors would then only have a few days before they would have to reach a decision about whether to charge Ramirez in Stow's beating.

Ramirez's parole lawyer, J. Christopher Smith, has said he did not believe authorities had sufficient evidence to show his client was in possession of a firearm. The Police Department declined to comment.